Profiles

Joan Kearsley MBE:
Friend of LOT and former BiG project participant. See Building includes Girls

Photo: Joan at work in her conservatory.

Vicky, our Projects Coordinator, chatted to Joan in her home. One of the things they have in common is that in June they both had their Coverack houses badly damaged by the floods.

Joan has had an 'eventful year' as she put it! Being caught up in the Coverack floods in the summer of 2017 brought some of her experience from the Lizard Outreach Trust's BiG ( Building includes Girls) project to use, while her house is being repaired following the flooding.

'The BiG project was great as it got a lot of us girls who didn't have the chaps to do the DIY trying small projects ourselves instead of having to get people in.' (Joan, like some of the others had been recently widowed and found she had a shed full of excellent tools).

'A while ago now I did my floor in my conservatory on my own, some of the builders here now commented on it, I wouldn't have attempted it before the BiG project, I just needed a little help with the skirting: I won't be laying it this time!'

Joan supports our work at the Lizard Outreach Trust, through other community groups who have been helping LOT to build a sensory garden at Coverack school. When I visited her at her home, she was in the middle of repairs, which have been keeping her busy, but she was still keen to chat about plans for the second phase of the sensory garden project.
Joan Kearsley 2018

Lucy:
Hi, I'm Lucy De Sola Pinto. I have been a LOT trustee since 2016. I am a former Mullion Comprehensive pupil and have lived and worked on The Lizard Peninsula. It was a real privilege to be asked to become a LOT Trustee.

I have a degree in Geography and Earth Systems Science at the Tremough Campus in Penryn from which I graduated in 2008.

Since then I have worked in a variety of catering businesses in the local area which has led me to have great contacts within the local community.

I am looking forward to taking part in future LOT projects, and to helping and encouraging young people on the Lizard.
Lucy De Sola Pinto January 2017

Kate:
Hi, I'm Kate Sherlock, I am a LOT trustee, and have been since 2012. I am the newest trustee and reconnected with the charity as a volunteer after I finished university.

When I was offered the opportunity to become a trustee I was both excited and flattered.

I went to Mullion Comprehensive school and was lucky enough to benefit from many of the wonderful activities LOT was running during my time there. One of the most inspirational projects I took part in was the political literacy project which really broadened my eyes to the rest of the world as well as developing a wide variety of skills. This is one of the main reasons I was excited to be a trustee as I wanted to help the charity offer others the opportunities I had.

I completed my degree in law at the University of Southampton in 2011 and can’t quite believe how quickly the time has gone since then. I am currently studying for my legal practice course at UWE part time while working full time for the Citizens Advice Bureau.

I aim to eventually qualify as a solicitor and hopefully work within the charity sector. LOT has continued to support me as it offers a great opportunity to see how a charity functions and how important it is to stay on top of legislation changes.

My role is LOT so far has been to be as hands on with helping out on the projects as possible, look at ways of engaging with young students and also to check compliance and legal matters as much as I can.

I continue to be grateful for the experience I have gained as a beneficiary, volunteer and now as a trustee with LOT. I am proud to be a member of a charity which encourages young people on the Lizard to take part in activities which will give them the skills and confidence to succeed in whatever it is they want to pursue.
Kate Sherlock January 2014

Vicky:
Hi, I'm Vicky Allen, I am a LOT trustee, and have been since 2007. I went to Lizard peninsula primary and secondary schools with fellow trustee Tom Jane, and like him I love living in Cornwall and being able to help young people in our Lizard community.

I studied for a degree in theology and after my degree I worked for LOT under the New Deal scheme. It was helping to run after school activities that really inspired me to go on and study to become a youth worker. I took a post grad qualification in youth and community work at Marjohns.

After qualifying I was employed full time as a Church youth worker in mid-Cornwall. A few years later the opportunity came for me to move back to the Lizard with my husband and young family, and I was thrilled to be asked to help LOT as a trustee. In addition to involvement with the youth work, I have particular responsibility for ensuring that LOT's Christian ethos is embedded.

I saw the chance to help young people on the Lizard by encouraging them to take advantage of the great opportunities which LOT offers them; I continue to see many grow in confidence and gain really useful skills that could help them later on , both to find employment and to lead a fulfilling life in its widest sense.

In the past I've run small youth groups from my home and I am currently involved in teaching Sunday School and in working with a team which presents the "Open the Book" initiative in local primaries. In some of my spare time I've just started learning to make my own creams and cosmetics - quite fun and smells great!

I love reading, walking, gardening, making jewellery. I have two sons who keep me busy the rest of the time and I look forward to them being able to share in the fantastic experience of LOT in the future.
Vicky Allen (née Julian) 2011

Mike:

Click HERE to read about Mike on the Tall Ships

Lawrence:
GAP year student youth worker 2010/2011

I first heard of Lizard Outreach Trust when I moved to England (having just spent 5 years living in France).

I started college, as they came in to the common room and were looking for young people to come on the City and Sea exchange. The trip was, in a sense, life changing for me as it made me realise how my life had lost direction and how I wasn't working towards the 'right' goals.

So, a year down the line when I was offered a position at LOT for 9 months, I jumped at the opportunity and am now working for LOT as a student youth worker. The position is hard work but great fun and totally rewarding and I really hope to be able to make some changes in the organisation, being an extra body for LOT.

One of my big ambitions is to run a few extra events for the over 16s in the Lizard who currently have next to nothing to do in the area. By doing this I hope to increase the number of young people we can work with throughout the time that I am here. This will be a gap year of sorts for me as I am not totally sure of what I want to do after this but I enjoy doing work that can benefit the community and working with people.

I am funded for the year by the Rank Foundation who have also given me the opportunity to work towards a level 3 diploma in youth work, which I hope, will help me with my work here and to gain further employment after my time here whether I end up working in youth work or not. .
Lawrence Archer. October 2010

Jowan:
I first became involved with Lizard Outreach Trust as a Youth Volunteer, coaching Tag Rugby in a local primary school, which was great fun and opened my eyes to the possibility of a career in sports coaching & development.

Following my coaching in 2009, I took part in the City & Sea Exchange, which is an exciting project with Summer University in London, during which we joined with young people from the East End of London looking at the business end of the maritime industry in London and the practical side here in Cornwall. It was a fantastic experience and great to meet the group from London and make some new friends in Cornwall too.
Summer was finished so quickly and it was time again to begin coaching in the primary schools. In order to improve my skills, LOT sent me on a Level 1 football coaching course, funded through Volunteer Cornwall's Convergence fund, which has helped me with the after school clubs and increased my confidence and ability. I am now looking forward to getting involved in some football coaching throughout the Lizard peninsula, combining my time with my new job, which I have just begun, and am enjoying very much.
Jowan Hall. July 2010

Josh and Alex:
When we were at Mullion Comprehensive, we were involved in LOT's out-of-school activities e.g. boatbuilding.

Now we've left college and working, we are keen to volunteer and support young people and our community. We like sport and being outdoors. In fact, we've just been on a week's training to become volunteer crew for the Lizard lifeboat.
Because we're enthusiastic and energetic LOT put us forward to go on a F.A. Level 1 Football Coaching course. We passed. It was free, because McDonald's sponsored it.
In the autumn we plan to get involved with the Lizard peninsula primary schools and run some football activities. We'll be planning this with Jenny, LOT's youth worker and Karen, who looks after volunteers.
When we did the F.A. course we met Tasha Mills, Centre Director for the CCFA Girls' Centre of Excellence. She mentored us through an NVQ course in Sports Leadership. We're planning to be busy!
Josh Legge and Alex Mesropians. July 2010

Kirsty:
I'm 19 now, and was about 13/14 when I first went to a Signing activity - I discovered sign language at an after school workshop, which was run by Lizard Outreach Trust's Duo Deo project. I found it fun and exciting that I could have conversations without anyone knowing what we were saying.

It's another language and it's allowed me to meet new people. It also gave me an idea for a career choice, which I am extremely thankful for (I'm currently studying to be an audiologist). At the moment I use sign language to talk to some of my friends who use it as well. In the future some of the patients that I will treat will use sign language and being able to sign myself it will be easier for both me and the patient to solve the problem.
Kirsty Shannon

Ben:
I took the refereeing course during October and November of 2002. This was all funded and organised by the Lizard Outreach Trust. I began to referee at my local youth football club in January 2003, which I found really enjoyable - youth football has a great atmosphere.

I knew the manager of my local football team and he asked me to become the club's linesman when I was just 14, which really excited me. I "ran the line" for the club for two seasons gaining a great deal of experience and becoming more and more recognisable to local clubs and referees. I soon joined my local Referees Association and just lately was asked to represent Falmouth/Helston Referees on the local league committees. I soon became a well-known face in the world of Cornish refereeing.
I have officiated in two County Cup finals, one being the Junior Cup Final, an honour which I am very proud of. This last season I have been promoted to a Level 6 referee which has opened even more doors to me; recently I was invited to attend a conference for young referees in Daventry organised by the F.A.
Refereeing has really changed my life. At times it is extremely difficult and can be the loneliest job in the world but it is a challenge which, every week-end, I cannot wait to undertake; (in the week I'm a farmer). Refereeing has made me a much stronger person, helping me to deal with very difficult people, a skill which is needed in all walks of life.
Without LOT I would never have dreamt of becoming a referee, so I must thank them for making my life much more entertaining!
Benn Lugg

My first experience of boatbuilding would have to be making small fibreglass boats with John at Lanarth. I remember waiting with intense anticipation to see if this thing I had made really floated, and to my joy it did! The course with John gave me the drive and enthusiasm to progress to the next stage, Falmouth Marine College. It was here that I studied Traditional Boatbuilding for 2 years. Once I had completed this very enjoyable and rewarding course, I moved to Australia for a year where I used my trade to fund my travels and also increase my skills.
I spent time in Brisbane working for a very successful and well-established Boatbuilders "Norman R. Wright & Sons". During the time at this yard I worked on a new ferry build and also a luxury and very stylish fishing craft named the Weapon. After returning back to the UK I promptly started work as a boatbuilder at Gweek Quay specialising in traditional yacht repairs and complete restorations. Work there has involved completely reframing done by a process of steaming and also fitting new deck beams and deck on a 1912 21ft. NORMAN DALLIMORE yacht. Work has also included working on a 42ft Abecking and Rasmussen yacht, renewing all frames, floors, removal of keel to gain access to floor bolts and re-plant waterline down. I spend my days surrounded by tradition and skills slowly dying away, so I'm happy to know I'll carry it on and hopefully pass it on as it has been done for me. I now spend my spare time sailing the boat I first started sailing in with my Grandad in Maldon; sailing down the Helford River after carrying out several structural repairs and brightwork. I'm a serving member of the local coastguard Search and Rescue team. I'm now starting to pack up again as I'm off to South America and New Zealand to get involved with the boatbuilding scene out there and broaden my skills.
Tom Penman

At the tender age of 18, I was busy stacking shelves at the local Tesco, when the wife of one of my ex comprehensive school teachers, Maggie Roberts, approached me to be a trustee for a charity helping young people.

Now, at that age I didn't know what a charity was - let alone being a trustee of one, but I said I'd think about it and, as I'd taken quite a lot from my community when I was growing up and liked to have the opportunity to put something back, I became a trustee. I'd just started doing a Hons Degree at Cornwall Business School in Business Administration and being part of Lizard Outreach Trust was very useful - I actually used the charity as the case study for my dissertation which worked really well (and got me the highest mark).
Not only did LOT help my degree, but also, through being part of the Voluntary and Community Sector I made lots of contacts. Through these contacts I got my first full-time job after my degree. Since then I've not looked back and the Voluntary and Community Sector is my home. When I first embarked upon my Business Degree, I had grand business sector plans and had never heard of the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS), but the degree and the knowledge and skills I learnt with LOT have certainly put me in good stead: At the age of 27, I'm now the Partnership Manager for West Cornwall Together (www.westcornwalltogether.org.uk ) working for the VCS, in partnership with the Private and Public Sector, with 6 staff under me and earning good money. In five years' time? Well, who knows - but I know I'll be living in Cornwall. I feel that I'm living proof of LOT's belief: that you don't have to go out of Cornwall to learn or get a good job.
Tom Jane 2006

At first, I carried out the work of a broadcast assistant but then I began to help with producing the Saturday Sports Show.I was very aware of how young people in the area benefited from the work of the Lizard Outreach Trust and was keen to promote it on the radio. The annual golf day provided the perfect opportunity. It was a typical Cornish August day with wind and rain battering the course, but I managed to overcome the elements to put together a feature on the event which was broadcast. The BBC enjoyed the style in which I had produced the package and I was given more "on air" time as a result.
After A levels, I did a Broadcast Journalism degree at Southampton and following graduation I went into local televsion and eventually became Head of Sport for Southampton TV. The next step was a weekly show on the The Golf Channel. Following a successful audition in London, on 1st July 2005, I took up my present post in Madrid as a presenter and commentator on Real Madrid's English speaking satellite channel. The channel, which broadcasts to Asia, North America and Australia, has recently been launched on Sky, channel 446. Daniel Thomas
Daniel Thomas

Tony Roberts brought the students after school from Mullion School; he stayed for the sessions, being in charge of the kitchen making hot chocolate and jacket potatoes! Another new venture was the BiG project (Building includes Girls), where 14-84 year old students learnt basic DIY skills - carpentry, plumbing, painting and decorating. We considered a patent for our roaming loo!
These activities developed into negotiations that subsequently had for me a life and career changing effect , which continues today. For my part the change of direction that was offered by LOT's intervention has allowed me to move from retired fireman to plumber/boat builder and lecturer of sorts, this encouraged me to qualify as an educational post 16 lecturer, and I have this year (2006) obtained an Honours Degree in Education and Training. Over the last four years I have been teaching boat building at my workshop for the local comprehensive school two days a week, and I still work with Maggie at the Lizard Outreach Trust.
John Hughes

I placed two bids to get some beginning funds and both were successful. I applied to 'Our money your dream' and we received £3000 and also applied to another charity the Local Network Fund. This was also successful and they gave us £7000. A brilliant start to our group. We have also received various donations from local Rotary clubs.
The aim of the group is to provide carers with respite from their caring roles and also hold educational workshops and events to ensure that these young people can further their career or education and in some instances have an education to begin with. We also aim to identify more young people who are carers but don't yet realise that they have a caring role or lack the support they need. I have also helped to draw up the constitution for the group and risk assessments and equality policies for the group.

Since my brilliant trip last August on the Tall Ships with LOT and the Joseph Rank Trust I have also been able to book 8 berths on the Lord Nelson. This was also done with the help of the Jubilee Sailing Trust Cornwall branch who have funded half of the berths. 4 berths are going from Plymouth at the beginning of March to Dublin for a week and we have 4 very excited young carers who are currently preparing and getting ready for their trip. The next four berths will be used later this year probably after the main summer months. I have also been in the office at Camborne a lot helping the carers support worker with the usual mountain of paperwork that has to be completed!!This has been eye-opening into how much is needed even just to organise a trip to Plymouth for the day or a meeting in Truro! I am also completing my gold youth achievement award with the young carers which includes organising and running various events and at the end doing a presentation in front of people (who I get to invite) on one of my challenges!

I am still at college trying to complete my a-levels and cannot wait until they finish and the summer is here again!! I'm also doing some work experience for a company called Proper Care which involves going into peoples houses and helping them get ready, do housework and generally tending to their needs due to a disability or illness that they may have and I am really enjoying it and again it is a very eye opening experience into how people are able to cope and manage with their disabilities.
My main plan for this year is to go to Australia at the end of this year, probably November time but it keeps changing!! So many opportunities are opening up which all sound exciting and could mean putting Oz on hold for a few years but I'm just going to see what happens!! On writing this and looking back at what I've done since last August, and the equally brilliant City & Sea Exchange with Tower Hamlets and what is ahead of me this year it seems that I am going to be very busy and hectic trying to do as much as I can and grab every opportunity that is offered to me! And now I am driving it is so easy to do so much more! Anyway have included a picture of me on a Tall Ship!
Chris Mitchell: February 2008